A brief-yet-ongoing journal of all things Carmi. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll reach for your mouse to click back to Google. But you'll be intrigued. And you'll feel compelled to return following your next bowl of oatmeal. With brown sugar. And milk.

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Friday, April 21, 2006

The cure of color

While nursing this nasty cold from home today, I've been thinking about how a quick jolt of bright color always manages to lift one's mood.

I captured this while on a walk last week outside my parents' apartment. It's a lovely neighborhood, tucked on an island among other islands. It's got water, trees, ducks, and a never-ending collection of pretty views.

Of course, leave it to humans to muck it up. A nearby set of buildings surrounds a courtyard that must be one of the worst examples of 70s-era landscape architecture. It's little more than a concrete canyon that is as welcoming to people as a bureaucrat is to change.

I kept the camera tucked away until I came across this chain barrier beside the road. It had been freshly painted, and as a result it stood out from the sterile, monochromatic environment. I thought it was worth remembering.

Passers-by stared at me as I snapped away. I was able to fling one-liners at them in French, which is always a joy. Now they think us crazy Ontarians are about to invade with our lenses.

Maybe we are.

Your turn: Do you have a bright swath of color - or a colorful experience - to share here or on your own blog?

I am a knitter and jewelry maker and my I often wonder what my neighbors think as I drap knitted items over my fence to take photos (oftentimes I'm still in my robe) or be clicking away at an object set out on my garden bench. I need a t-shirt that states "It's for the blog!"

I'm always struck by the intensity of the colors in Hawaii. And I was enchanted with the pretty colors of the houses in Bermuda. In California, we are trying to blend into the landscape so bright colors aren't seen very often on the houses.

I love that you always give a "Your Turn" opening - just thought I'd let you know...

The first thing that comes to mind when you say "bright swath of colour" are the bookshelves at the library, where I work. It's curious to see how different publishers and authors decide on the colours of their book jackets, so some sections look like a row of skittles, while others contrast in dusty grey and earthtone jackets.

Michele sent me today, but in all fairness, you were due for a visit anyway - that's why the lengthy comment.

now THAT is what I call YELLOW! I love it! I've got a picture of my new tulips that I blogged about a few days ago. Its not quite as striking as your yellow chaing, but they were still a nice splash of color after a long dreary winter!

Color experiments are my stock in trade! There is a painting hanging over my desk here--a landscape in blues and greens with a red/orange streak that occurred by accident, running along the shore of a pond. If that accident didn't happen, this painting would not be hanging anywhere.

Hey Carmi...Love that yellow chain. Almost every photo I take has something colorful in it, except for the ones that don't!(lol)...But really, I love anything colorful! It feeds something in my soul! And I think that is true for you, too...In fact, I KNOW it is!

Here on my own.I was taking some pictures of a tiny flower, more like a weed. The little white flower is about 1/4 inch across and there are little round fuzzy "knobs" on some of the stems that are also less than 1/4 inch. These seemed to attract the ladybugs, first I've seen this year. The bright red was captivating. I took several shots. Then I tried to capture a macro of the fuzzy round knobs of the plant. Everything was green. When I downloaded the pictures, to my surprise there was a tiny 1/16 inch little bug, probably a form of aphid, running up and down the stem, bright orange. No wonder the ladybugs flocke to this plant.

You always amaze me with your insight. I saw a small documentary once by a private film maker in which he followed by camera a floating plastic bag in the wind. His audio of "what the bag might be experiencing" was bizzare, and so insightful at the same time.

Carmi, Michele sent me but I've already fallen in love with your blog on another visit. I know what you mean about 70s architecture. In fact, most buildings from the 50s-70s are a blight on most skylines I've found. As for bright spots of color I'd have to say it is all the blooming flora and budding fauna here in NC at the moment. Glorious spring as usual...but UGH the rain season has begun I'm afraid. I'll have to enjoy those bursts of sunshine in between the showers.

Today I was leaving the museum of science and noticed that they had just painted the Mass Gen T stop a very vibrant green. My camera card was totally full from pics at the museum, but I really wanted to photograph it.

So you'll have to look at my museum pics instead. I'm working on the post right now.